Power Players: New Mexico Senator Enchants Donors from Energy Sector

Position: Bingaman has been the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee since 1999 and returned to his post as chair in 2007. The committee has jurisdiction over energy policy, regulation and research and will be at the center of upcoming debates about the best way to curb global warming. The Democrat was elected to Congress in 1982.

Money Summary: Since 1989, Bingaman has collected a total of $11 million in campaign contributions and has spent $10.6 million of that. A little more than half of his money has come from individuals, rather than from the political action committees of unions and corporations. In his last election, which was in 2006, Bingaman raised seven times more than his opponent, Republican Allen McCulloch, who collected a mere $559,100. For an incumbent such as Bingaman, bringing in cash is not usually a difficult task–and neither is winning. Bingaman won in 2006 with 70 percent of the vote.

Campaign Donors: Not surprisingly given his committee assignment, Bingaman’s campaigns run, in part, on fuel from the energy sector. The energy sector has given Bingaman at least $1.1 million since 1989, ranked just after lawyers and lobbyists, who have contributed $1.5 million to his coffers. In the 2006 election cycle, when he was up for re-election, he received more money from natural gas transmission and distribution companies than any other senator ($25,000) and more money from electric utilities than all but two other senators ($230,668). His top donors include energy companies Exelon Corp ($39,250), Edison International ($34,250) and El Paso Corp ($31,800). He has collected at least $463,900 from electric utilities companies and $402,500 from the oil and gas industry.

Bingaman has consistently sought alternative sources of energy and supports a cap-and-trade program to limit harmful carbon emissions. He also supports providing incentives to the nuclear power industry to develop new kinds of reactors. Last year, in the midst of heated arguments about allowing the federal moratorium on offshore drilling to expire, Bingaman offered a compromise bill that included offshore drilling, in addition to measures that would promote renewable energy and conservation. Industry Favors: “The Alliance thanks Senator Bingaman for his leadership and his unrelenting commitment to improving the nation’s energy efficiency and to creating a balanced energy policy,” said Alliance to Save Energy president David Nemtzow in a press release when Bingaman was stepping down from his role as chair of the group. Some of Bingaman’s most generous donors are members of the group, including Exelon and Sempra Energy. The senator chaired for nine years and is currently an honorary member of the board.

Invests in: A whole lot. Bingaman was worth between $5.7 million and $14.3 million in 2007, more than all but 16 other senators. (Lawmakers report the value of their assets in ranges, so it is impossible to know how much, exactly, they are worth.) His portfolio was filled with investments in energy companies that are directly affected by legislation coming out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, including Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Devon Energy, Exxon Mobil and Bingaman’s fourth-largest donor over time, Exelon. He also had many investments in the companies that have received bailout money from the federal government, including Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, American Express and AIG. Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Lehman Brothers are also on that list. In total, Bingaman listed 382 assets on his 2007 report. (Many of these investments have almost certainly lost significant value since Dec. 31, 2007, the cutoff for these reports.)Other Money Matters: The New Mexico senator appears to attract money from back home and has been able to return the favor as chair of the energy committee. New Mexico’s other senator until this year, Sen. Pete Domenici, was once the committee’s chairman and was most recently the ranking Republican while Bingaman held the chairman’s gavel. Together the two have protected the interests of New Mexico’s Los Alamos and Sandia labs, according to the 2008 Almanac of American Politics. Los Alamos National Lab is Bingaman’s most generous donor over time–employees have given him $48,000. Based on employee contributions, his second-most-generous donor is the University of New Mexico ($41,900) and the State of New Mexico is among his top 10 ($34,250).

In His Own Words: “This is the highest potential area for additional oil and gas production in the outer Continental Shelf,” Bingaman said, pointing at the eastern Gulf of Mexico, near Florida, on a map during a press conference last year. Bingaman suggested these areas should be open to exploration for natural gas. “I think every expert will tell you, this is where the oil companies would like to be given access to go ahead with drilling.”

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